


14 Hotch/Reid Headcanons

by througheden



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Headcanon, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-06
Updated: 2013-09-06
Packaged: 2017-12-25 19:44:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/956914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/througheden/pseuds/througheden
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I was asked to write out some of my favorite Hotch/Reid headcanons and it got a little bit out of control.</p>
            </blockquote>





	14 Hotch/Reid Headcanons

**Author's Note:**

> Two tumblr users asked for my headcanons. As you can tell, the first one sort of got away from me and now I have a dozen ficlet ideas based on the others. I'll probably do another headcanons post at some point because these were 1.) super fun and 2.) super inspiring! (If I do another one, I'll probably include more 'mature' headcanons because good Lord do I have a ton of those.)
> 
> ALSO: I wrote most of this at work and my boss' name is Aaron. Generally, when I write Hotch/Reid, I refer to them both as Spencer and Aaron but I felt weird using my boss' name while sitting at my desk. Thus, Hotch and Spencer.

# 1: Their relationship didn't have a starting point.

Not really, anyways. It was something that evolved gradually, from innocent talks in Hotch's office to slightly more intimate dinners at Hotch's house, from Spencer awkwardly watching movies with Hotch and Jack to Spencer helping Jack with school projects. It just happened. It was organic; totally natural. In the beginning, neither of them talked about the hidden kisses or the midnight promises they whispered in the dark. They didn't have to-- their actions spoke louder than feeble words ever could.

Spencer did, however, recall the precise moment he realized his affections for Hotch went far beyond admiration and professional acumen. Not many agents would have put their faith in someone who failed their firearms qualifications, but Hotch did. They wordlessly formulated a plan to protect themselves and those around them, with Hotch trusting Spencer to make the shot. He’d seen him miss dozens of times, and watched him struggle endlessly at the shooting range. And yet, despite seeing his shortcomings, he trusted him with him life and with his gun. Spencer knew later on, when Hotch gave him that gun, that the butterflies in his stomach weren’t the aftermath of a near-death situation.

Hotch, on the other hand, took a little longer to recognize his feelings. He had a wife, he had a son, and he was nothing if not infinitely devoted to them. In the beginning, he was able to deny that he smiled a little more at Spencer. If he enjoyed his magic tricks, if he let Spencer get away with a little more than he would other agents, if he listened intently to his ramblings, it was only out of respect. Spencer had interesting things to say, and there was nothing wrong with a little laughter now and then.

Ironically, it was not through laughter that Hotch finally recognized his harbored feelings. No, it was through sheer terror. The chill that ran up his spine when he realized Spencer had been taken hostage by Hankel was horrifying-- heart-stopping, actually. He had a lump in his throat and an invisible dagger in his stomach the entire time they watched, nearly vomiting on more than one occasion as he watched Spencer endure torture he did not deserve. There were moments where he thought they wouldn’t find him, that they wouldn’t get to him in time, that all they’d find would be a body and Hotch couldn’t stomach it. But then, he left the clue, a secret message to Hotch directly. Spencer put the same faith in Hotch as Hotch had left in him.

Later, when they found Spencer beaten and bruised, Hotch knew the relief that washed over him was not just that of finding a friend alive. It was not just the relief of finding a co-worker or of ending someone’s spree of terror. The warmth that spread through his chest when Spencer reached out for him, the respite he found when Spencer collapsed against him, the tightness in his throat as Spencer whispered his declaration of faith-- this was not just a fondness. Hotch couldn’t speak as realization slammed into him. He just held Spencer tighter, amazed that after all he’d just endured, Spencer still managed to shine so brightly.

They continued on in this state for years-- each silently pining, both agents hiding behind work and professionalism as a reason to keep their feelings to themselves. Spencer would feel the same lightness in his stomach when Hotch’s arm brushed too close and Hotch’s throat would constrict each time Spencer spoke. The few cases they worked together were difficult-- the close proximity made it increasingly difficult to manage their microexpressions. And when Hotch told Spencer he was finalizing his divorce, things only became more trying.

As time passed, so did their unspoken decision to maintain a strictly professional relationship. Spencer began spending more time with Hotch, often helping with weekend dinners and introducing Jack to quality sci-fi media. It was a subconscious decision for them both-- they never discussed being together. They never put words to the slow build to intimacy, beginning with a certain closeness while watching television to sharing body heat late at night. After so many years of wordless searching for a kind of protection and contentment they could not provide for themselves, they found it within one another.

Unbeknownst to both Hotch and Spencer, the team knew. The team knew pretty much immediately, actually. Hiding something from the best team of profilers the nation could compile was no easy task and why they even tried, the team had no idea. Of course, they were completely professional at work, but the way they stood closer to one another, the longer gazes, and the almost imperceptible smiles that crept across their expressions would be a tip off to any behavioral analyst.

After a few weeks of quiet gossip and silent observation, Rossi figured it out. They’d been sitting in the conference room discussing their latest case-- a murderer seemingly acting as an emissary of justice to avenge the wrongful death of a loved one-- when Spencer noted a similarity between the three known cases currently on the board and two other unsolved cases in the files he’d skimmed. Similar M.O, similar positioning, but those two cases occurred just over the district line. Rossi had seen Spencer put puzzle pieces together before, just as he’d seen Hotch see Spencer put puzzle pieces together before. But this time, there was a kind of pride in the way Hotch’s smile ghosted across his face. It was quick and he wasn’t even sure if anyone else had seen it. But he certainly had.

He confronted Hotch about his not-quite-secret relationship over a Scotch in his office. "So...," he'd said, his eyes sliding to the window directly to Spencer. Hotch huffed out a breathy laugh and sipped his drink, a gleam in his eyes that Rossi hadn't seen in years. That was confirmation enough for him; he never brought it up again.

* * *

# 2: They were together for over a year before moving in together.

Hotch worried about integrating someone into Jack’s everyday life, fearful of how it would affect Jack to lose someone else. He knew that his and Spencer’s jobs were dangerous and it wasn’t unheard of for Spencer to be in near-death situations. But eventually, Hotch realized that they were practically living together anyways. Spencer spent more evenings at his house than he did in his own apartment, he was around for dinner often enough that Jack questioned when he wasn’t, and books were beginning to pile up around the house. Two weeks before Spencer’s lease was up for renewal, Hotch asked him not to sign.

* * *

#3: Jack is hesitant with Spencer at first, until they bond over the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Jack's favorite is Leo while Spencer has an affinity for Donnie. (I don’t know why, maybe it’s just my own love for TMNT, but I think Spencer would really love all adaptations of the show and I think Jack would specifically love the newer one on Nickelodeon.) 

* * *

#4: As their relationship continued, Hotch became surprisingly romantic.

Not in the traditional way-- Spencer isn't a big flowers and chocolates kind of guy. No, instead, Hotch surprises him with new books. Some are fiction, some biographies, some case stories related to their jobs. But all are related in some way to something they'd discussed in the past. The first book he gave him was a philosophy book dedicated entirely to the definition of narcissism.

* * *

#5: Hotch discovered very quickly that Spencer is the world's grumpiest human being in the morning.

Hotch would never admit it, but watching him crabbily stumble across the kitchen to the coffee pot was often the highlight of his morning.

* * *

#6: Hotch really does love Spencer's magic tricks, enough so that he bought Jack his own magic kit.

Spencer likes to teach him new tricks, things beyond the kit's abilities. It was funny to watch Jack learn to pull things from thin air, cut things in half only to stitch them back together again with a wave of his hand. Eventually, Hotch started finding playing cards around the house-- in the kitchen sink, under the kitchen table, stuck in the DVD player, clogging the shower drain. He never asked how they wound up in these places; he just laughed. He didn't know that it was actually Spencer hiding the cards with Jack, knowing that it amused Hotch.

* * *

# 7: Spencer has a knack for making Hotch smile. 

Even after the hardest cases, the longest days, the most frustrating meetings, he can make him laugh. A deadpan comment followed by a simple twist of his mouth and a cock of an eyebrow and Hotch laughed. Spencer loved the sound of his laugh, so he did this more and more often. Eventually, Hotch had to stop looking Spencer in the eye at work.

  
Spencer knew that if Hotch didn’t leave his office at least once an hour, something was wrong. He was stressed, he was upset, he was under pressure. On more than one of these occasions, he invited himself into the office, distracting Hotch with magic tricks. They’d talk in between Spencer making pens stand on their tips and quarters appear out of thin air. He didn’t leave until the gentle wrinkles around Hotch’s eyes stretched with a true smile.

* * *

#8: Spencer is in charge of decorating for holidays and his love of Halloween comes out in full force in October.

The kids (and some of the adults) in the neighborhood walk past the house regularly during the month, trying to figure out what the great scare will be this year. No one's figured it before October 31st out yet, but the surprise is always great fun for the trick or treaters.

* * *

#9: Spencer isn't as innocent or passive as others may expect.

Once he got comfortable with Hotch and their physical relationship, he enjoyed making the first move and being in control. Hotch discovered this little trait one evening when he came home to find Spencer pinning him against the door frame wearing nothing but a tie. It's not unusual for Spencer to surprise him-- he's much more experimental than Hotch could have anticipated.

Before Spencer, Hotch never had a ‘thing’ for the FBI vests, but he’d be lying if he didn’t really get a rise out of the way that vest fit him. Spencer figured out Hotch had a ‘thing’ for the vest when he caught a quick flash of lust in his eyes while he apprehended a suspect. Spencer brought it home later that night. For Jack’s sake, they were both incredibly thankful for Aunt Jess babysitting.

* * *

#10: Spencer was terrified the first time Hotch explicitly said he loved him.

They'd been living together for over a year, and harboring their relationship for much longer, but those three words had always hung in the air innocuously. They'd been on his tongue for years, suffocating him as he tried to choke them back every time he opened his mouth. But when the opportunity presented itself, he panicked. He didn't return the sentiment until later that night, when Hotch suggested they add Spencer to Jack's emergency contact list at school.

* * *

#11: The first time Spencer held Henry, he realized that he did actually want a family.

He suppressed the urge, however, as his fear of passing along his heightened risk for mental illness to an innocent child was far too much to bear. It was easier to convince himself that he didn’t want it than it was to admit that he _couldn’t_ have that.

The first time Jack included him in a hand drawn family portrait, he almost cried.

The first time Jack labeled him 'Papa' in another drawing, he did cry. 

* * *

#12: Hotch does a lot of the cooking, much to Spencer's relief. 

* * *

#13: Both Spencer and Hotch are excellent at compartmentalizing their work duties from their personal life.

They refuse to share a hotel room on travel cases or call each other by their first names.

Reid and Hotch are co-workers. Spencer and Aaron are partners.

* * *

#14: They both still have nightmares, specters of Foyet and Hankel haunting their dreams.

When Spencer wakes from a nightmare, he often finds himself pulled against Hotch's chest, warm hands protecting him from the cold the rushed through his veins.

When Hotch wakes from a nightmare, he finds himself in a similar position-- Spencer wrapped protectively around him, his limbs shielding Hotch from the dark. Spencer always made a point to rest his head lower, pressed against Hotch’s chest or side.

Spencer wanted him to know that Aaron was still able to protect others while simultaneously allowing others to protect him. 

 


End file.
